Structure determination of a tetradecapeptide mimicking the RXVRG consensus sequence recognized by a Xenopus laevis skin endoprotease: An approach based on simulated annealing and 1H NMR

Summary The tetradecapeptide of sequence H-Asp-Val-Asp-Glu-Arg ⁵-Asp-Val-Arg-Gly⁹-Phe-Ala-Ser-Phe-Leu-NH₂ is recognized by a putative maturation endoprotease of the Xenopus laevis skin, which cleaves between Arg⁸ and Gly⁹. A conformational search has been performed on this peptide by simulated annealing calculations. Two different models in agreement with the NMR data were found. The conformational difference between the two types of model is located in the consensus sequence, i.e., from Arg⁵ to Gly⁹.     

Etude viscosimétrique des effets structuraux du cation calcium sur des solutions contenant l'anion alginate

Résumé Le comportement en viscosité sous différentes vitesses de cisaillement, à différentes températures, de solutions d'alginate de sodium à des concentrations variant entre 0,05% et 1%, auxquelles on a ajouté du chlorure de calcium en quantité variable, est qualitativement toujours le même; pour des quantités croissantes de chlorure de calcium, à concentration fixe en alginate de sodium, à une phase de dépression de la viscosité succède une phase de croissance très rapide, suivie à nouveau d'une phase de décroissance. Dans la première phase les variations de la viscositè avec la vitesse de cisaillement sont représentables par un modèle répondant à la Théorie d'Eyring; dans les phases suivantes l'écoulement est représenté par une loi du type =a^b avec b<0. Cette différence dans le mode d'écoulement tiendrait à l'apparition, à partir d'une concentration en chlorure de calcium suffisante, d'une structure tridimensionelle plus ou moins stable suivant la concentration en ions calcium.Discours prononcé lors du congrès annuel des rhéologues allemands à Berlin le 9 juin, 1966.     

Sub-ppm multi-gas photoacoustic sensor

A photoacoustic multi-gas sensor using tuneable laser diodes in the near-infrared region is reported. An optimized resonant configuration based on an acoustic longitudinal mode is described. Automatic tracking of the acoustic resonance frequency using a piezo-electric transducer and a servo electronics is demonstrated. Water vapour, methane and hydrogen chloride have been measured at sub-ppm level in different buffer gas mixtures. The importance of the system calibration in presence of several diluting gases is discussed. Finally, trace gas measurements have been assessed and detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio=3) of 80 ppb at 1651.0 nm for CH(4), 24 ppb at 1368.6 nm for H(2)O and 30 ppb at 1737.9 for HCl have been demonstrated.     

A characterization of semisimple plane polynomial automorphisms

It is well-known that an element of the linear group is semisimple if and only if its conjugacy class is Zariski closed. The aim of this paper is to show that the same result holds for the group of complex plane polynomial automorphisms.     

Creating carbon-carbon bonds with samarium diiodide for the synthesis of modified amino acids and peptides

In this perspective, an overview of our experiences on the application of samarium diiodide in organic synthesis for the preparation of amino acid and peptide analogues is presented. Three different carbon-carbon bond forming reactions are discussed, including side chain introductions, gamma-amino acid synthesis and acyl-like radical additions for the construction of C-C mimics of the peptidic bonds.     

Probing microstructure evolution during the hardening of gypsum by proton NMR relaxometry

We report a comprehensive proton NMR relaxation study of the water confined in the evolving porous structure of hardened gypsum prepared with different water-to-plaster ratios (w/p) and increasing additions of crushed gypsum. This study gives some new information on the microstructure, the water distribution, and the hydration kinetics without any drying or perturbing preparation. The bi-exponential transverse magnetization decay reveals the existence of two water populations in slow exchange. However, the different behaviors of these populations during saturation and desaturation experiments show evidence of a fast exchange of each population with the surface. Two modes of organization of the microstructure of this material are identified through an original model of exchange as a function of the water-to-plaster ratio (0.4 < or = w/p < or = 0.6 and 0.7 < or = w/p < or = 1). A clear gap is shown in the exchange rate value above w/p = 0.6 that could be representative of a percolation threshold. Both the method and the theory presented can be applied more widely to other porous media with reactive surface areas.